Walking With The Wounded has announced the appointment of Paul Schofield as their new IPS Employment Advisor. He will support service users from Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust and the Veteran Mental Health Network Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS), working closely with regional partner Birmingham Royal British Legion (RBL) pop-in centre.
WWTW Employment Advisors are embedded in veteran supported accommodation residences or with NHS regional veteran mental health teams, helping unemployed veterans to find employment and rebuild their lives.
Paul formerly worked in the Central Support Team at the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). In this role, he also worked closely with veterans throughout their transition from military to civilian life, supporting them at regular intervals over a 2-year period.
In his new role, Paul will work as an IPS Employment Advisor within the Birmingham and Solihull area. He will work closely with local employers, securing work placement opportunities, identifying necessary training, sourcing competitive roles and providing employment support to ex-servicemen and women as they transition from military to ‘civvy street’.
In 2018, Walking With The Wounded was recognised as an IPS Centre of Excellence for Veterans by the Centre for Mental Health - the first of its kind in the world. The award recognises the IPS service provided to veterans by WWTW in both Essex and Manchester, in partnership with other local and regional military and mental health organisations.
Paul explains, “WWTW do an incredible job supporting vulnerable veterans and their families when they leave the Armed Forces. My new role presents the opportunity to work with veterans holistically, finding out their goals and aspirations and helping them with specialist employment support. I look forward to getting stuck in!”
Amy Franklin, Head of Employment Programme commented, “Paul is a great addition to the Employment Advisor team. He brings with him a wealth of experience having previously worked in the veteran sector and his role allows WWTW to reach more vulnerable veterans in the West Midlands”.